Wafu Salad Japanese Style Onion Salad Food

WAFU SALAD (JAPANESE STYLE ONION SALAD)

Steps:

• Soak dried wakame in a bowl of water for more than 3 minutes. Drain well.
• Mix vinegar, olive oil, soy sauce and sugar to make sauce.
• Slice onion finely and place in the sauce.
• Add wakame and mix well. Can serve immediately or allow to meld for up to two days in refrigerator.
• Decorate with sliced cherry tomato.

POTATO SALAD JAPANESE STYLE

Steps:

• Wash the potatoes and carrots but do not peel. (This makes the vegetable fresh and gives them good texture).
• Place in a hot steamer and cook for about 25 minutes over a medium heat, taking care to top up the water from time to time as needed. Prick the vegetables with a toothpick or skewer to see if cooked and remove when done.
• Peel the potatoes and carrots while hot and then transfer the potatoes to a bowl and roughly break up. Mix in the chicken stock powder and leave to cool.
• Chop the carrots in half length ways and slice into 5 mm thick semi-circular pieces. You can make quarter -button shapes by chopping the halves carrot again length ways before slicing.
• Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and use a spoon, remove the seeds. Cut each half again lengthways and then slice into 5 mm thick pieces. In a separate bowl, sprinkle salt over the cucumber and leave for about 2-3 minutes to soften, then squeeze to remove excess liquid. Cut the onion in half, slice and soak in water to remove any bitterness, then drain and pat dry.
• When the potato is cool, add the carrots, cucumber and onions and lightly mix. Stir in the mayonnaise, salt and pepper and serve.
• Variations: You can make this salad look even more interesting by serving it in individual portions (about the size of an egg) and add a slice of hard-boiled egg.

TURKISH ONION SALAD

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients and mix well.
• Set in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to mellow before serving.

SQUID SALAD OR OCTOPUS SALAD - JAPANESE STYLE

Steps:

• Wash, pat dry and cut salad leaves into bite-size pieces, then arrange the salad leaves into serving dish. Set aside.
• For the squid/octopus cut the body and legs into 1.5 cm thick then season with salt and pepper.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the garlic and fry until you can smell its aroma.
• Add the squid/octopus into the pan with the garlic and cook until done. Squid/octopus' colour will change and it will no longer be transparent, Please NOTE do not overcook as it will becomes tough.
• Remove from heat and place on top of the prepared salad leaves in serving dish.
• Return frying pan to the heat, add the soy sauce, ginger, sugar and mix well with any remaining cooking juices from the squid/octopus, making sure that all the sugar dissolves.
• Pour dressing on top of squid/octopus then sprinkle some chilli powder or shichimi togarashi.
• If there is a lot of dressing you could serve it separately and dinners could help themselves if they wish for more dressing.
• Enjoy.